Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar wants the United Nations (UN) to address itself to the challenges arising out of the persistent adverse state of the world economy which remains a matter of global concern.

Speaking on behalf on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the UN’s High-Level debate on the Stat of the World’s Economy in Washington, Ramotar reminded the UN of its obligation to ensure that the global response to these challenges is inclusive, effective and sustained.

“Three years ago, leaders met in New York for the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. Today, the outworking of that crisis is still a work in progress; the danger of significant reversals is ever present. The IMF has pointed out that after three years of effort at stimulating recovery, the world economy is still fragile and the medium-term prospects are bleak” Ramotar said.

The Guyanese leader in his maiden address to the forum also said that talk of recovery can in the global economy at best be described as “premature”.

” Even if there are some signs of renewed growth, this growth can hardly be regarded as deeply entrenched and is still extremely uneven. Several of the major contributors to global output continue to place a drag on global growth, and are themselves grappling with unsustainable fiscal balances, which hinder their ability to implement adequately the measures needed to stimulate a lasting recovery. The challenges in the Eurozone,faltering growth in the US economy, and a slowdown in growth in major emerging economies are indicative of the fundamental problems that still exist at the global level” he highlighted.

Ramotar also bashed world leaders for having failed to derive at any “tangible response to the crises since their last meeting in 2009.

“The inherent fragilities that facilitated the global financial and economic crises have not been adequately addressed; developing countries have borne and continue to bear a high cost for a crisis not of their own making and the current state of the global economy suggests significant vulnerabilities that make a recurrence a continuing risk” he said, adding that “rom the standpoint of developing countries, this entails addressing the fundamental impacts of the crisis on their development prospects, and on achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

He believes that progress towards the MDGs was already slow prior to the crisis, and will inevitably be further slowed as a result of the crisis and a combination of other concurrent challenges.

Increased poverty and hunger has ensued with the over 1 Billion people now face hunger on a daily basis; and poverty eradication gains have been eroded Ramotar highlighted.

He also said that the rise again in food prices, unless contained, could further aggravate the poverty challenge and have a devastating impact on poorer economies.

Although more resilient than in earlier times, developing countries have borne the brunt of the present crisis, as reflected in growth that is generally lower than pre-crisis levels the Guyanese leader noted.

“Already wrestling with harmful trading arrangements, and the consequences of an inconclusive Doha Development Round, the circumstances of these countries have now been aggravated by the crisis. The adverse effects have included cuts to social programmes, reductions in the flow of ODA and foreign direct investment (FDI), on international trade volumes and the level of indebtedness of developing countries; and a major loss of jobs” he added.

Some 200 million people, including more than 75 million young people, are reported to be out of work Ramotar and economist by profession said.

“. All of these factors have had knock-on effects on the availability of domestic and international financing for development, not to mention multiple socio-economic implications… the CARICOM reality reflects a number of these pathologies: slow growth; high unemployment, particularly among youths; high levels of indebtedness and limited policy space for transformative action; depressed tourism receipts; and external threats to legitimate engagement by some of our Member States in the financial services sector. Middle income status, viewed through the prism of GDP per capita, has become an albatross, belying the real challenges faced by our countries and constraining access to much needed resources” the president said.

He noted that CARICOM economies have been significantly impacted, particularly in the services and financial sectors, given our heavy dependence on services and on trade with and tourism flows from North America and Europe.

“Contracting demand in those countries resulted in a virtual collapse in tourism and in the prices for many of our exports. This situation, coupled with unfair regulatory action against the financial services sector, has caused major economic dislocation in a region with limited scope for diversification” he stated.

Ramotar reminded that the Caribbean has not made any contribution to the financial crisis but faces major economic devastation as a result.

Source